the adventures of alyssa

I blinked — and suddenly my newborn is two months old, I’ve become acclimated to sleeping about 6 broken hours each night and it seems to be sunset right after the sun rises. Such is life with two kids, haha! I’ve been wanting to write this blog post for a solid eight weeks but at the end of the night there are bottles to wash, bills to pay, and Reddit posts to catch up on — so it’s been waiting impatiently in the corner of my brain for a night like tonight. Baby is currently bundled up in her Rock n’ Play (seriously, best invention ever. Get all your friends one (yep, that’s an affiliate link, so if you click it, I make a penny), Holly is dreaming of shoes and string cheese, and Matt is sleeping, preparing for his day on set. I’m wearing leopard leggings and just came back from Yoga. It was my first exercise class in a looooong time and let’s just say I have some work to do in terms of getting back in shape. But anywho, I digress. Let’s talk about two things I’ve had on my mind lately.

I was invited to a girl’s night out at As You Wish Pottery here in Valencia. I had just had Hadley six days earlier – and while people were surprised I was out, I had a great time taking a break from babying and nursing, and painted an adorable stemless wine glass. Several of my blog buddies were there too, and the class was lead by the awesome Marketing Director, Liz, who was a very talented artist (she used to create all the display pieces) and a patient and fun teacher.One thing I loved about the class was that it was structured yet there was still plenty of opportunity to be creative and make the piece my own. One trick we used was to trace the lettering with a sharpie on to the pot through tracing paper, and then filled it in with the glaze. I felt like a real “Artiste” (say it with a French accent to add some flair) and I loved getting to be creative. Liz kept telling us the theme of the night was whimsy – something I felt as I learned how to make puddle flowers, which is where you puddle the paint in one area to create an abstract, round flower shape. Isn’t it so cute?!

Tracing the lettering.

Bloggy ladies hard at work.

Self portrait of the Artiste.

Tons of variety of things to paint!

All of us with our beautiful pieces before they get fired.

The finished product in my living room!

I’d definitely consider bringing girlfriends here for a girl’s night out, and I’m thinking this might be a fun Mother’s Day activity to take my mama to. (Fun fact: Mother’s day is on my birthday this year!) I also want to take Holly and let her just go wild on one of the cute cat statues or plates they have. There’s a HUGE variety of things to choose to decorate, with prices starting as low as $6. Be sure to check out As You Wish near you – here in Southern California, we have three locations: Valencia, Simi Valley, and Palmdale. If you happen to be in Arizona, you’re in luck because there are many more locations in Arizona, too! When Holly is older I may very well host a birthday party here for her – prices start at $175 for eight kids and they each get to paint one item. Thinking about it now, I think I actually might take my bestie this weekend so we can catch up and gab while also unleashing our inner artistes. Thank you so much to As You Wish for hosting me and my blogger friends!

One thing that’s quickly approaching is the end of my maternity leave (Waaah!). While I can admit I’m in some ways looking forward to getting back to work because it feels good to use my brain in ways other than mothering — (I’m doing a little freelance work here and there in product naming and it’s been refreshing to get creative with words again (yep! fun fact: I name toys!)), I am sad to leave my little Haddie. (But – our daycare is just a mile away and she’s with her sister Holly, so that will be great). However, one thing that will soften the blow is attending Shiftcon the last weekend in January! Shiftcon is a conference founded by my friend and business-savvy social media pal, Leah Segedie. Leah is a pioneer in the green wellness space, and her conference is a really cool medley of social media and tech workshops, health and wellness presentations, and an expo with hundreds of natural and organic care leaders. While I’m “light green” in that I’m not super educated in green stuff like non-GMO and chemtrails and stuff, I am interested of course in learning how to adapt my lifestyle and keep my children’s diet and environment as natural as possible.

Kia, me, and Leah rocking our Twitter skillz at Shiftcon 2016!

I’m attending Leah’s conference as a volunteer, and I am really looking forward to some of the workshops like “Exploring the Hidden World of Fragrance” and ” Old School Promotion–How to Get a Book Deal & Media Coverage.” One thing that’s really awesome about Shiftcon is all of the meals are non-GMO and organically sourced. I volunteered at Shiftcon last year in New Orleans, and had a blast leading their Twitter Party, taking photos, and helping organize the mannequin challenge in a gigantic expo hall. Can’t wait to have fun and learn in February! Interested in joining me? The conference is in Irvine from February 1-3, and there’s just a few passes left!

Ok – little miss just woke up for her nightly feed, so I better tend to my child. Hopefully I’ll be back soon and hope your 2018 is off to a swimmin’ start!